Getting Ready For Tomorrow Morning Surprise!

happy birthday cutie

F/14.0, 1/60, ISO 100.

Day 54 / 365

It is hard to come out with a good surprise.    🙂

Interesting Fact: In 1974, four engineers from Pilot Pen Corporation invented a “dustless chalkboar­d.” Their invention has become one of the most popular drawing toys, with more than 40 million sold since its introduction. Countless children have enjoyed playing and learning with it. This wonderful invention is the Magna Doodletm! ( http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/magna-doodle.htm )

 

 

Up Up And Away!

hooded merganser

F/6.3, 1/500, ISO 320.

Day 53 / 365

“Did you hear something”?  “I say lets bail out of here”!!!

Interesting Fact: Hooded Mergansers are extremely agile swimmers and divers but clumsy when moving on land because their legs are set far back on the body. ( http://www.withmephotographyblog.com/10-interesting-facts-about-the-hooded-merganser )

When Appliances ATTACK!

appliance attack

F/18.0, 1/60, ISO 160, Photoshop CS6.

Day 52 / 365

This easy mixer started it !

Interesting Fact: In 1908 Herbert Johnson, an engineer for the Hobart Manufacturing Company, invents an electric standing mixer. His inspiration came from observing a baker mixing bread dough with a metal spoon; soon he was toying with a mechanical counterpart. By 1915, his 80-quart mixer was standard equipment for most large bakeries. In 1919 Hobart introduced the KitchenAid Food Preparer (stand mixer) for the home. ( http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/mixers.htm )

 

Cold and Hungry!

Song Sparrow

F/8.0, 1/320, ISO 100.

Song Sparrow

Day 51 / 365

“Got any food? ”

Interesting Fact:   They recognizes enemies by both instinctual and learned patterns, and adjusts future behavior based on both its own experiences in encounters, and from watching other birds interact with enemies. ( http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/146/_/Song_Sparrow.aspx )

Can You Smell The Flowers!

tulips

F/5.6, 1/60, ISO 100.

Tulips

Day 50 / 365

STOP! Tulips Time.    🙂

Interesting Fact:  During WWII, some people in the Netherlands were forced to eat tulips because there wasn’t any other food. “Bread made from tulips is not very good … like wet sawdust” according to a Dutch man who grew up on a tulip farm during the war. (Also, part of the bulb is poisonous, apparently.) ( http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2011/05/06/20-facts-about-tulips )

Great Balls Of Ice!

ice balls

F/5.3, 1/60, ISO 100.

Day 49 / 365

You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain
Too much love drives a man insane
You broke my will, oh what a thrill
Goodness gracious great balls of “ICE” ?

( Original “Great Balls of Fire” Song by Jerry Lee Lewis )

Interesting Fact: Presently, 10 percent of land area on Earth is covered with glacial ice, including glaciers, ice caps, and the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica. Glacierized areas cover over 15 million square kilometers (5.8 million square miles). ( http://nsidc.org/cryosphere/glaciers/quickfacts.html )


 

Here’s Looking At You, Kid!

Merlin

F/8.0, 1/125, ISO 100.

Merlin

Day 47 / 365

“I see you, and after you take that photo I am out of here ”

Interesting Fact: Merlin pairs have been seen teaming up to hunt large flocks of waxwings: one Merlin flushes the flock by attacking from below; the other comes in moments later to take advantage of the confusion. ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/merlin/lifehistory )

Never Can Get Enough!

still in love

F/16.0, 1/60, ISO 250, Photoshop CS6.

Day 46 / 365.

Valentine’s day is over and the love continues.

Interesting Fact: The term “love” is from the Sanskrit lubhyati, meaning “desire.”. ( http://facts.randomhistory.com/2009/08/04_love.html )

Freezing And In Love!

gadwall

F/6.3, 1/320, ISO 1600.
Gadwall Duck
Day 45 / 365

Even on a frozen ocean you can find love today.

Interesting Fact: Gadwall sometimes steal food from American Coots and from other ducks.
( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/gadwall/lifehistory )

Bonus Valentine Facts: 2. Valentine’s Day may have a rather gory history. As one variation of a popular myth goes, Claudius II, the Emperor of Rome, forbade young men from marrying because he wanted them as soldiers in his army instead. St. Valentine defied him and married people in secret, so he was executed on Feb. 14 in the year AD 269 – or so the story goes. ( http://m.ibtimes.com/valentines-day-facts-history-fun-ideas-free-burritos-singles-awareness-other-things-1813226 )